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Episode 5: Polarized
Note: This page contains spoilers for the currently released episode. Polarized is the fifth and final episode of Life Is Strange. It was released on October 20, 2015, almost 3 months after Episode 4: Dark Room. It is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. There have been uploaded 6 teaser trailers for Episode 5 and one day before, 19th October, the official date trailer was uploaded. Synopsis Max learns that time is impossible to control and that her power carries many consequences as she moves inexorably towards the most agonizing decision of her life. Arcadia Bay, meanwhile, is preparing to weather a huge storm as Life is Strange comes to a gripping and gut wrenching conclusion. Summary Max is held captive inside the bunker with Mark Jefferson, but by using her powers, she manages to escape into a photograph. Emerging back at the beginning in Jefferson's class, it is made possible for her to inform David Madsen of her kidnapper's identity - Jefferson is caught, Chloe is rescued and Max is awarded the opportunity to go to San Francisco and her photograph displayed in an art gallery. She calls Chloe from the event, realizing that in spite of all her efforts, the storm is still in existence as it reaches Arcadia Bay. Max uses her powers to go back in time to the taking of the gallery photo, which eventually leads her to sojourn alternative realities as they devolve into a dreamscape nightmare. By the story's end, Max arrives at the lighthouse with Chloe. They confront the fact that Max brought the approaching super storm into existence by availing herself of the time travel abilities and saving Chloe in the bathroom from the start. Max must make a final choice, sacrifice Chloe's life in order to save Arcadia Bay, or leave Arcadia Bay in ruins to prevent Chloe's demise. Plot Max awakes from Mark Jefferson's drug to find herself strapped to a chair in the Dark Room alone. She desperately shouts for help but to no avail. On closer inspection of the Dark Room, Victoria Chase can be found tied up and lying on the ground beside her if the player warned her during the party. Max, desperate to find a way out, has no other solution but to travel back in time through one of the many pictures Jefferson took of her when she was drugged. There, she returns to the time where she is still drugged up and victim to Jefferson's "subject". Traumatized, Max fidgets and angers Jefferson, which prompts him to increase her dosage. Hopeless to stop Jefferson, Max struggles and kicks the trolley where Jefferson keeps his photos and drugs. As the photo burns and returns Max to the Dark Room, an unhappy Jefferson is seen looking at his drenched photos. Max, back on the chair, spots a new pile of photos on the trolley and uses a more awake photo of her taken by Jefferson to return back in time. During that time, Jefferson and Max have a little conversation where he reveals that Nathan is dead and is used as a scapegoat for his crimes. Vowing for revenge, Max pleads to Jefferson for her diary. Jefferson disregards it and throws it on the ground, which is flipped to the page with the photo Max took in Jefferson's class inEpisode 1: Chrysalis. While Jefferson is going through his new pictures, Max uses this perfect opportunity to return back in time. Back at the classroom, Max texts David about Jefferson and the Dark Room and hands in her picture for the Everyday Heroes Contest. As time passed, Jefferson is arrested and Max is seen on a plane flying to San Francisco with Principal Wells after winning the contest. However, at the Zeitgeist Gallery, Max has a vision of the storm again, but this time withChloe's cry for help. Max leaves the crowd with a nosebleed and enters a lounge, where she checks her phone. Surprised to see her phone is on silent mode and has 6 missed calls from Chloe, she calls Chloe back immediately. A distressed Chloe tells Max that the tornado was real and is heading straight for Arcadia Bay. Realizing she didn't fix anything, she travels back in time through her contest winning picture. Inside, Max experiences another nosebleed as she learns that the "boundary" of the area is much smaller and has a similar effect of a burning picture. Deciding to fix the timeline, Max tears her contest picture, which ends her up in the Dark Room again. Confused on what is going on, she looks around and learns that her diary is burned up by Jefferson, which made her return to the Dark Room. Victoria is also no longer there, having been killed by Jefferson. Just as Jefferson was about to kill Max, David Madsen breaks into the Dark Room, but gets ambushed and hit by Jefferson with a tripod. Using herrewind ability, Max warns David and distracts Jefferson, who is then able to neutralize and capture Jefferson. After freeing Max, David asks for the whereabouts of Chloe. The player is given the choice to either tell the truth or lie to David. If Max tells the truth, David will kill Jefferson. Deciding to use Warren's photo to save Chloe, Max drives to the Two Whales Diner in the middle of the storm using Jefferson's car to find him. While driving, Max opens a voicemail from Nathan who apologizes and admits that he regrets his actions of dosing Kate and overdosing Rachel. He also warns Max about Jefferson before the voicemail ends. As Max nears the diner, piles of debris form a roadblock which forces Max out of her car. People rush to evacuate the town while some are heard screaming for help. Max can either help them or continue advancing forward. Among them are theTrucker, who is pinned on the leg by a wooden plank, Evan Harris, who gets hit by flying debris after being too distracted on taking pictures, Alyssa Anderson, who gets stuck in a building, and the Fisherman, who is in the state of shock next to an electric wire in a flaming building. As Max advances and cuts close to the diner, fuel from a car is ignited, which blows up the diner. Using sand next to the diner, Max manages to prevent it from happening again. She enters through a side door where she finds Joyce Price, Warren, Frank and Pompidou. After chatting for a bit, Warren gives Max the picture. Before going back in time, the player is given the option to either kiss, hug or do nothing with Warren. Back at outside the party, Max gives Chloe a hug upon seeing her. A disappointed Warren excuses himself for the two to talk. With convincing reasons, Max manages to warn Chloe of Jefferson and they both head to the lighthouse to take cover from the storm. However, just as Max is about to start walking up the cliff, she passes out and wakes up in the classroom very similar to the first episode. As the lesson goes by, red splats of blood slowly cover the window as tons of birds fall down from the sky. The moment the blood filled the entire window, everybody disappears and the window reverts back to normal. If Kate lived, the writing "I want to die" is scribbled all over her desk. If Kate died, a puddle of blood is seen on her desk. Dead birds fill the courtyard viewed from outside the window. The picture of a lighthouse now turns into a picture of the lighthouse destroyed by the tornado. The picture of the doe in the forest now turns into a picture of Chloe and Max digging up Rachel's corpse. The Everyday Heroes contest poster turns into a poster called "Everyday Zeroes" with Max's face in the foreground. The background is filled with the words "Rubbish", "Loser" and "Zero" written all over. Written on the poster is "Is Max Caulfield a loser? Does she hurt everybody she helps? YES. Max has already won because she has already lost. So don't bother to enter". As Max tries to exit the classroom, Jefferson suddenly appears and asks her to talk about her entry before leaving, similar to the first episode. When Max approaches Jefferson, he asks Max if she would like to spend the rest of her life in his Dark Room. The options presented to Max are not what Max would say. This includes "I love you, Mr. Jefferson", "My selfies are shit", "Our dark room" and "Thanks for killing Chloe". Selecting either option makes Jefferson disappear but allows Max exits the classroom. However, instead of entering the hallway outside the classroom, Max is now transported to the Girls' Dormitory. There, lighted candles are placed in front of every room's door. Kate is seen in front of her room mourning over herself. After blaming Max for saving her/letting her die, she opens the door to her room (which is entirely white) and jumps off it. On closer inspection of the dorm hallway, a key for Room 218 is found on the desk outside the showers. Entering it changes Max's outfit to Rachel Amber's red checkered outfit and fills the dorm with her missing poster notice. Dialogue relating to Rachel is also played in the background. Entering Rachel's old room will change Max into Victoria. Similarly, her quotes and graffiti is scattered around the walls and dialogue relating to her is played in the background. Entering Victoria's room changes the player back to Max and fills the dorm with small polaroid pictures that made up her "Max Caulfield Photo Memorial Wall". Only after entering her own room does Max return to the hallway outside the class, where the same cutscene in first episode plays when she first exits class. However, everything is reversed, with the exception of Max. Characters are walking and talking backwards while the user interface is reversed too. The music played in the background is also reversed. As Max advances, the translucent doe appears and enters the bathroom. Following the doe, Max enters the bathroom but finds herself in a dark maze resembling the San Francisco gallery with Jefferson. Using her rewind ability, Max must sneak past several clones of quite a few characters to reach the lighthouse on the other side. After the gallery section with Jefferson, a rotating statue of Principal Wells (replacing Jeremiah Blackwell) with a spotlight in his eyes in a place resembling the Blackwell Academy courtyard becomes the threat. The art in the original courtyard is replaced with pictures of drugged up victims of Jefferson's dark room (such as Rachel, Max and Kate), where the principal announces that "Max has died". A Blackwell Academy hallway section follows shortly, with Warren, Nathan, Principal Wells, David and Samuel carrying flashlights searching for Max. Frank, Jefferson and Nathan return in the next section, which resembles the junkyard. Scattered around are bottles, which are collectibles for an achievement, but also there as a reference to the second episode. After reaching the lighthouse, Max takes a seat on the bench next to it, only to find herself trapped in a snow globe, where she is forced to sit through the day William died. Max then appears in the Dark Room, strapped to a chair again. Jefferson and Chloe then appears in front of Max as Chloe poses for Jefferson to take pictures. Chloe and Warren then show up and kiss. Nathan and Chloe then appear sitting on the couch facing Max, where Chloe asks Max to "take a picture or take a selfie" when she sees her looking at both of them. An almost naked Chloe then appears dancing on the couch where she says to Max "No mosh pit for you, shaka brah", a reference to the third episode. Victoria and Chloe then appear and kiss. Followed after is the wheelchair-bound Chloe from the alternate timeline who appears in front of Max and blames her. The original Chloe then shows up and takes pictures of Max, similar to how Jefferson took them, blaming Max that "she is the storm" and shouldn't have came to Arcadia Bay. Max is then transported to the Two Whales diner's restroom, where a digicode is required to unlock the door. As Max tries to figure out which numbers are they, tons of numbers appear all over the walls and ceiling, with the exception of the mirror, which doesn't reflect any of the numbers. There, Max sees a code in the mirror and exits the restroom to find herself not alone. Every character is in the diner, though immobile, but all are begging Max not to kill them. Max finds another version of herself in the diner, the only moving person among every other character. The other Max blames and guilts the real Max, but Chloe enters the diner (similar to Episode 2) and stops the other Max from messing with the real Max's head. Max is then taken to a trip of all the memories she had with Chloe together. At the end of it, Max exits the nightmare and both Chloe and Max see the storm edging closer to the town. They confront the fact that Max is the reason of the storm as a result of the incident happened in the bathroom. Chloe then gives Max the blue butterfly photo she took in Episode 1, making Max choose the final decision: Sacrifice Chloe to save Arcadia Bay or sacrifice Arcadia Bay for Chloe. If Arcadia Bay is sacrificed, Max and Chloe are seen driving out of the ghost town. If Chloe is sacrificed, Max is brought all the way back to the bathroom where Nathan first shot Chloe. Max, feeling helpless, crouches behind the stalls and cries as she hears the gun shot. After some time, Arcadia Bay is seen bathing in sunlight again, while Joyce, David, Warren, Max, Kate, Victoria, Dana, Justin, Trevor and Principal Wells mourn over Chloe at the cemetery. Frank and Pompidou is seen overlooking the ceremony as the blue butterfly flies over them and lands on the coffin. Max looks at it and smiles, remembering what it signifies and how it all started. See here for diary entries and messages from this episode. Characters (To be added) Main Characters * Max Caulfield * Chloe Price * Mark Jefferson Minor Characters * Homeless Woman * Fisherman * Trucker * Alyssa Anderson Choices Major Choices In "Polarized", the only major choice to do is to make a final sacrifice between saving Chloe and allowing Arcadia Bay to be destroyed, presumably along with your friends and all its residents being killed, or saving Arcadia Bay and sacrificing Chloe by allowing her to die in the bathroom in order to prevent the tornado from occurring and thus sparing the town. Note, these are also the choices which cannot be rewound except focusing on the photo before the time Chloe died. * Sacrifice Arcadia Bay — 45% of players refused to allow Chloe to be sacrificed for the sake of preserving Arcadia Bay, and accepted the disastrous tornado produced by Max's time traveling. As a result, the two best friends survive the tornado that leaves the town in ruins and kills many, if not majority of its residents. In the aftermath of the destruction, Chloe and Max are seen driving through the town to witness the damage, before leaving Arcadia Bay together to an unknown destination. * Sacrifice Chloe '''— '''55% of players chose to accept Chloe's fate of dying in the bathroom at the hands of Nathan. Max travels back in time and does not interfere in Chloe's confrontation with Nathan. Later, Nathan is arrested for the death of Chloe, and while being interrogated, confesses about his affiliation with Mark Jefferson, the Dark Room, and Rachel Amber's disappearance, to that of which also results in Jefferson's incarceration. Through Chloe's sacrifice, justice has been served, and the destruction of Arcadia Bay and the death of its residents has also been averted. Shortly after, Max attends Chloe's funeral and witnesses a blue butterfly landing on the casket. Minor Choices (Statistics to be added) David * David got a scar during the fight. - * David didn't get a scar during the fight. - Mark Jefferson * David killed Jefferson. - * David didn't kill Jefferson. - The Trucker * You saved the trucker. - * You didn't save the trucker. - Evan * You saved Evan. - * You didn't save Evan. - Alyssa * You saved Alyssa. - * You didn't save Alyssa. - The Fisherman * You saved the fisherman. - * You didn't save the fisherman. - Joyce * You helped Joyce believe in David again. - * You didn't change Joyce's mind about David. - Frank * You told the truth about Rachel to Frank. - * You didn't tell the truth about Rachel to Frank. - Warren * You kissed Warren. - * You hugged Warren. - * You didn't show Warren any affection. - Deaths * Nathan Prescott - (Determinant) 'Mark Jefferson mentions that he murdered Nathan and plans to pin his murders on him. However this is changed after Max warns Chloe in the past. He is arrested at the end for the murder of Chloe if Max chooses to sacrifice her in order to save Arcadia Bay. * Victoria Chase - '(Determinant) If Max warns Victoria about Nathan in the previous episode, she will go to Mr. Jefferson who will capture her. Later, after Max returns to the dark room, Mr. Jefferson will reveal that he killed Victoria because he believes that she's where she should be. She is seen alive during Chloe's funeral if Max chooses to save Arcadia Bay's population. * David Madsen - (Pre-Rewind) When David enters the Dark Room and is confronted with Jefferson, there are several instances in which he is seriously hurt and even shot. * Mark Jefferson - (Determinant) In the original timeline if Max tells David that Mark murdered Chloe, David will execute him. However this is changed after Max warns Chloe in the past. * The Trucker - (Determinant) 'If Max doesn't help the trucker out from under his truck he will remain crushed underneath it. * Evan Harris - '(Determinant) 'If Max waits too long, Evan will be too distracted by the storm and a metal visor will take him out. * Alyssa Anderson - '(Determinant) 'If Max did not save Alyssa in more than 3 episodes and Max talks to her, she will back away from Max and will fall into a hole in the floor of her apartment. * The Fisherman - '(Determinant) '- Max will accidentally electrocute the fisherman to death in order to get past the fire, and if Max leaves without rewinding and warning him, he will stay that way. * Officer Berry - Officer Berry can be seen crushed under a police car outside the diner. * The Homeless Woman - '(Determinant) 'If Max chooses not to warn the homeless woman about the storm in Episode 3, she will be crushed by the dumpster. * Chloe Price - '(Determinant) If Max chooses to go back to the day she stopped Nathan from shooting Chloe and allow him to do so, Max will prevent the storm from happening and consequently will save Arcadia Bay's population. * Warren Graham, Joyce Price, Frank Bowers, Pompidou and an unnamed man - (Pre-Rewind) They die in a gas explosion in the diner. Max needs to prevent that by rewinding, so that she can get Warren's photo. * All of Arcadia Bay's population - (Presumed, Determinant) If Max chooses not to sacrifice Chloe, then the storm destroys Arcadia Bay and likely kills everyone except Max and Chloe. Walkthrough Click [http://life-is-strange.wikia.com/wiki/Polarized/Walkthrough here] to see the Walkthrough article on this episode. Unresolved Issues and Open Questions There are many ideas developed throughout the season that weren't resolved in the final episode and a lot of questions remaining unanswered. (Please add your thoughts here.) * Where did Max's powers come from, and for what exact purpose were they given to her? * If Max created the storm by messing with time, changing the course of everything and jumping into alternative realities, why did ''she get the powers in the first place? * If Chloe's fate was to be destined to die in the bathroom in the first place, then why was Max given time powers to intervene and prevent her death? * Does Max still have her time controlling ability after her final decision, especially in the Sacrifice Chloe ending? * What about the mystery surrounding Pan Estates and the allusions to Native Americans and their spiritual culture presented throughout? * What about Samuel and his mysterious behaviour, talking about spirit animals and a non-scientific explanation for the strange phenomena at Arcadia Bay? * What was the purpose of the somewhat mystical Doe seen throughout the episodes? * Who is Twilight Zone? Theories and Interpretations Theories and Speculation * It's not explicitly shown, but highly likely that most, if not all those in the Two Whales Diner, being Warren, Joyce, Frank, and Pompidou, are dead in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending when the full force of the storm had hit the town. Another thing to mention, is that in the other timeline the diner also exploded without Max's intervention, which was due to a gas fire from Frank's RV. But that could also depend on whether Chloe killed Frank in the previous episode. * While it is never explicitly stated whether or not anyone other than Max and Chloe survived the storm in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending, It should be noted that the Two Whales Diner is seen still standing after the storm, much like it was when Max was there before she saved Chloe using Warren's photo. Even though we don't see any survivors, it is entirely possible that Joyce, Frank, Pompidou, and Warren were able to survive the storm, staying sheltered in the diner. * David may have also survived the storm if Chloe is spared by the player, as during the storm he tracks down Jefferson in the Dark Room (with or without policemen). So he may have survived, being safe in the Dark Room underground. However, that also means that Jefferson likely survived the storm as well. * It's unlikely that Kate survived the Storm in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending either, as she stated to Max that her parents were merely coming to visit her at the hospital, nothing was explicitly stated about them picking her up and taking her out of town on Friday. * It's possible that Victoria is safe and sound with the principal in San Fancisco in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending, because if not Max, she would be the winner of Everyday Heroes Photo Contest. * It's unknown if all the residents of Arcadia Bay die in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending, although we have seen a lot of deaths that are determined without Max's intervention. A document in the Prescott BarnIt says that that the Prescotts brought "a bomb shelter boom to town". indicates that there are a lot of bunkers all over the town, but whether any of the residents actually knew about the bunkers or managed to make it to some of them isn't revealed. * It is only shown in the game that the street by the Two Whales Diner was mostly destroyed by the storm in Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending, as most of the buildings there are made of wood. It's not shown if Blackwell Academy, a brick building, had been completely destroyed by the storm as well. * As we know, the Bigfoots football game was supposed to take place on the day of the tornado, and the tornado probably postponed or interrupted it. Regarding the fact that Evan, Alyssa and Warren (people who aren't bothered by sports) aren't in Blackwell, maybe it was taking place but everyone watching or playing the game was killed on the field. * It's unclear whether Max changes reality or rather creates new timelines that run and exist parallel to each other, everytime she rewinds and changes the past. * It's possible that fate may attempt to correct Chloe's death once again after their leaving town in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending, as Chloe is meant to die and the storm destroying Arcadia Bay was just the first big anomaly to face through sparing Chloe. * There is a high probability that Max, in case she still has her time controlling ability after her final choice, won't ever be able to redo her decision on whether to Sacrifice Chloe or Arcadia Bay, as in both timelines she lost the possibility to either prevent Chloe's death on Monday. As the butterfly photo is torn in the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending, and through allowing Chloe to die in the bathroom in the Sacrifice Chloe ending, Max had likely never unlocked her time reversing ability without intervening. Interpretation * Max's Nightmare represents her emotional reliving of all experiences in the last five days in an exaggerated form, including her fears and trauma regarding the Dark Room Investigation, her feelings of guilt regarding her actions throughout the game, the alternative reality with William alive and the fate of everyone at Arcadia Bay and self-doubts, as well as the moments she spent with Chloe, as depicted in a sequence of recollected memories from the few days they spent together. * The final decision of either sacrificing Chloe or Arcadia Bay represents the popular ethical trolley dilemma, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." And that final situation is all about making the right decision in front of moral conflicts and own desires as depicted in Max's nightmare. That would make Life is Strange all about the morality and responsibility of time travel or rather life itself, and whether you can take responsibility for your decisions and bear the consequences. * One theory holds a more relatable interpretation, stating that Max got her powers through the blue butterfly and the real purpose of that power is to let Max enjoy her time with Chloe and say everything she has to say before Chloe dies. It was not really intended for her to save lives nor change the course of the future. Life is Strange is about the human desire for reversing your mistakes and having a second chance, just a little bit more time; to make up for what you didn't do. It teaches us to treasure the people we love and to spend the time we have with them wisely before it could be too late, before we could be left filled with regret for the rest of our lives; like Max would've been after finding out her best friend she abondoned for five years had suddenly dies and she never reached for her in that bathroom. Furthermore, it confronts us with the question: ''What are you willing to pay for the person you love? Would you really do anything, sacrifrice everything for that person? It's through these questions that the game pushes you to that extent, from taking one risk after another, investing in everything, and finally taking the immense cost of hundreds of people dying just for the one person you love the most and would do anything for, or finally learning to let them go and move on, not exactly for just the greater good, but for a sense of acceptance.[3] **Earlier in Polarized, Max reveals that she always wanted her life to be special, an adventure, but never without Chloe by her side. Tied in with this theory, it's possible that before Chloe died, Max was granted her childhood dream, and the adventure is what you make of it; running from death, keeping a doomed friend safe, saving the town, finding out what has happened to Rachel Amber and all the other girls. However, that adventure ended when Max fixed time by letting Chloe die, and so she probably also lost her powers in that moment. Trivia * The title 'Polarized' is a clever reference to the final choice. If something is 'polarized', it means there's two massively conflicting points. In this case, it's the desire to save Chloe or save the town. The two choices conflict the huge emotional bond the player (likely) formed with Chloe and the fact her survival will kill hundreds more. * The title also can refer to a particular type of photography filter which refines light generally for the purpose of increasing contrast or reducing distractions like glare. This could be a metaphor for Max's maturing views on her power and her situation. * The episode has been released on 20th October 2015, exactly 2 years after the date of the winner of the Everyday Heroes Photo Contest departs for San Francisco. Featured Music References Category:Life Is Strange Category:Episodes Category:Article stubs Category:Episode Five: Polarized Category:Episode Five: Polarized Characters Category:Characters Category:Female Characters